Reading stand



Nov. 23, 1948. v A. sAvAsTANo READING STAND Filed April 1, 1947 i Ihmentor vPatented Nov. 23, Q

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE READING STAND Antonio Savastano, Mount Vernon, N. Y. Application April l, 1947, Serial No. 738,691

This inventionrelates to a reading stand, and it is one object of the invention to provide a reading stand of such construction that a book, magazine, or the like, may be supported upright at a rearward incline and held open in position to be read.

Another object of the invention is to provide a book stand of such construction that after a book has been set in place upon the stand and opened a page holder may be shifted downwardly into position to `overlap upper portions of pages of the opened book and the pages to be read held at and prevented from having turning movements due to stiness of the backof the book and either completely turning or movingto such a position that they can not be easily read.

Another object of the invention is to provide a book stand wherein `the elements for holding a book open at a desired page is formed of resilient material and thus permitted to adapt itself to the l thickness of `a book or pamphlet being read and also allowed to accommodate itself to the point at which the book is being read and bear against both pages of the opened book.

Another object of the invention is to provide a book stand wherein the book engaging element is carried by a tubular post or standard into which a shank for lthe page engaging element is slidably received, the shank being urged upwardly by a spring in the post and a latch being provided for releasably holding the book engaging element in a depressed position for operative engagement with the pages of an opened book.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reading stand which is of light weight and may be used by a sick person lying upon a bed without inconvenience.

Another object of the invention is to provide a book stand which is simple in construction, easy to operate and capable of being manufactured at low cost.

The invention is illustrated in the accompany- 7 ciaims. (o1. i5-57) tion and slidably mounted in a tubular post which is also square in cross section to prevent turning of the shankin the post.

yIhis improved reading stand may be formed of plastic, wood, sheet metal, or other suitable 'inaterial, and has a base i, which may be of any length and width` desired, vand an upstanding flange 2 along its front edge and a depending flange 3 along its rear edge. A strip is mounted across the under face of the forward edge portion of the base so that the base will be spaced upwardly from a bed spread or other surface upon which the device is placed for use and also allow a person using the stand to readily grasp the base by the forward edge portion and lift it or shift it frorn one position to another. This also provides space under the base for a fastener 5 by means of which a tubularpost 6 is secured to the base. This post is located back of plates 'I which extend upwardly from the base at a rearward incline and across their lower ends are bent to form flanges 8 which project forwardly from the plates and are firmly secured to the base by rivets 9.

A rod I0, which constitutes a shank for apage holder I I, is slidably fitted into the post through the open upper end thereof and within the post is a helical spring I2 which is engaged by the lower end of the shank and urges the shank upwardly out of the post. The post and the rod` or shank may be circular in cross section, asv shown in Figure 2, or they may be rectangular in cross section, as shown in Figure 5, in which case the shank will be prevented from turning in the post and allowing the page holder to move out of its proper position relative to the book-supporting plates T. A

Rearward of the post extends a tubular guide i3 which is open at its upper end and slidably receives a rod or stem I4, and upon referring to Figures 2 and 4, it will be seen that the shank I0 and the stem I4 have their upper ends embedded in or otherwise connected with a block I5 constituting a head for the upper end of the shank. The page holder I I is carried by the block or head and is formed from a narrow strip of resilient metal which is bent intermediate its length to form a yoke I6 which straddles the block and is secured to the same in any desired manner. Front and rear arms I1 and I8 extend from the yoke, the front arm being bent so that it extends forwardly fromthe yoke and then downwardly and the rear arm extending directly downwards from the yoke and being arcuate longitudinally and formed with a forwardly projecting hook or bill I9 at its lower end.

cross bar 2U is mounted transversely of the lower end of the irontarm II and projects from opposite sides thereof, the cross bar being of such length that when the page holder and its shank are thrust downwardly to the position indicated by' dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2, an opened book set at rest upon the forward portion of the base and supported by the plates 'I will have its upperl portion fltfellappCly by the front arm and the cross bar will extend, transversely of the book and bear against the two exposed pages of the book and very effectively prevent the pages from moving towards each other or individually moving in a turning direction before so desired.

After the two exposed pagesy have been read, the front arm may be flexed forwardly and a page turned. When the page holder and its shank have been pressed downwardly, the hook or bill I9 of the rear arm or latch will slide downwardly along the tube I3 and successively move in to and out of engagement with the notches 22 formed in the rear portion of the tube according to the distance the page holder is shifted downwardly. Since the rear arm or latch is resilient, its bill will tend to engage in the notches and have gripping contact therewith and prevent the page holder from returning to its normally elevated position above the book. A finger engaging bar Z3 is mounted across the lower end portion of the rear arm so, that after the two exposed pages of a book have been read, the finger of the reader may be applied to the bar 23 and pressure applied to, move the bill out of engagement with a notch and thus allow the spring I2 to shift the page holder upwardly to the raised position. A chain 2 4 secured at its ends to screw eyes 25 and 26 carried by the post 6 and the block or head It limits upward movement of the shank outwardly through the post and prevents displacement of the page holder from the post. In casethe metal strip from which the page is formed is so bent that broththe rear arm and the front arm are located in front of the post 6, the bill at the lower end oi the rear arm will extend rearwardly instead of forwardly and engage with notches along the front portion of the post. If the post and the Shank, ere rectangular in @rese Seetien, as yshown in `Figure 5, the tube I3 and the rod I4 may be eliminated as they are unnecessary in I order to prevent the shank f rom turning in the PQSt. The block or head will also be eliminated and the bridge sertie@ :ef the, Pese helder direetly mounted upon the upper end of the shank Il), as shown in Figure 5. When this construction is used, the lower end of the rear arm bears against the rear face of the post and engages with notches formed in the post instead of in a tube mounted along the post. If so desired, an electric lamp 24 may be mounted across the front arm I'I, as shown in Figure 4, in such position that light will be directed downwardly upon the pages of a book resting upon the base and supported against the plates 1,

From the foregoing description of my improved .reading steed,A the construe-tien thereof and the method f. applying Seme te use will be readily understood, and it will be seen that I have provided a eemperetively Simple, inexpensive and eleient means for carrying out the various obieets of the invention.-

While I have particularly described the elements best adapted te perform the funetiens Set feria it is, apparent that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

l. A book rack comprising a base, supporting plates rising from the forward portion of said base at a rearward incline and having inner side edges spaced figorn each other transversely of the plate to provide space for receiving the binding of a book set upright upon the base and resting against the plates, a tubular post rising from the base back of the space between the plates and open at its upper end, a rod slidable vertically in said post through the upper end thereof, a spring in said post urging the rod upwardly to a raised position, a block at the upper end of said rod, a strip of resilient material bent intermediate its length to form a bridge mounted upon said block in stracldling relation thereto and front and rear arms, the front arm extending forwardly and downwardly from the block in forwardly spaced relation to the rod for overlapping the upper portion of a book resting against the plates and carrying at its lower end a cross bar for bearing against pages of an opened book, a sleeve extending longitudinally of the post against the rear portion thereof and having its rear portion formed with longitudinally spaced notches, a stem depending from the block and passing through the sleeve, the rear arm having a forwardly projecting bill at its lower end for engaging the notches of the sleeve and releasably holding the rod depressed, a strip mounted across the lower portion of the rear arm and constituting a nger engaging member for shifting the rear arm out of engagement with the notches, and a chain secured at its ends to the block and the upper end of the post to limit upward movement of the rod.

2. A book rest comprising a base, members rising from said base in transverse spaced relation to each other for supporting a book upright upon the base, a post rising from said base back of the supporting members, a page holder carried by said post and having a shank slidably engaged with the post and yieldably held in a raised position, a strip of resilient material mounted across the upper end of the shank and having downwardly extending front and rear end portions constituting a front arm and a rear arm, the f-ront arm being spaced forwardly from the shank for overlapping th-e upper portion of an opened book resting against the supporting members, a cross car carried by and projecting from opposite sides of the front arm for engaging pages of the opened book and preventing turning movement of the pages, a sleeve back of said post formed with vertically spaced notches, the rear arm constituting a latch and having a bill at its lower end for engaging the teeth and releasably holding the page holder in a lowered position for use, and means for limiting upward movement of the shank through'the post.

3. A book rest comprising a base, means rising from the base for supporting an opened book upright upon the base, a post rising from said base back of the supporting means, a page holder having a shank slidable vertically in said post and a head lat the upper end of the shank, a spring in said post urging the shank upwardly and yieldably holding the page holder in a raised position, front and rear arms formed of resilient material and extending downwardly from the head, the freni arm beine spaced ,forwardly from the shank for overlapping the upper portion of an opened book resting against the supporting means when the page holder is shifted downwardly into position for use, a cross bar carried by and projecting from opposite sides of the lower portion of the front arm for extending transversely across pages of an opened book, a sleeve back of said post, a stem mounted vertically back of the sh-ank and slidably passing through the sleeve, said sleeve having notches in its rear portion, and the rear arm having its lower end formed with a bill for engaging the notches and releasably holding the page holder depressed.

4. A book rest comprising a base, means rising from the base for supporting an opened book upright upon the base, a post rising from said base back of the supporting means, a page holder having a shank slidable vertically in said post and a head at the upper end of the shank, a spring in said post urging the shank upwardly and yieldably holding the page holder ina raised position, front and rear arms formed of resilient material and extending downwardly from the head, the front arm being spaced forwardly from the shank for overlapping the upper portion of lan opened book resting against the supporting means when the page holder is shifted downwardly into position for use, a cross bar carried by and projecting from opposite sides of the lower portion of the front arm for extending transversely across pages of an opened book, notches spaced from each other longitudinally of the post, and the rear arm being provided with a bill and constituting a latch for engaging the teeth and releasably holding the page holder depressed.

5. A book rest comprising a base, means rising from the base for supporting an yopened book upright upon the base, a post rising from said base back of the supporting means, apage holder having a shank slidable vertically in said post and a head at the upper end of the shank, a spring in said post urging the shank upwardly and yieldably holding the page holder in a raised position, front and rear arms formed of resilient material and extending downwardly from the head, the front arm being spaced forwardly from the shank for overlapping the upper portion of an opened book resting against the supporting means and holding the book open when the page holder is shifted downwardly into position for use, and means engageable by the rear arm for releasably holding the page holder in the depressed position.

6. A book rest comprising a base, means for supporting a book upright upon the base, a post rising from the base back of the supporting means, a page holder having a shank carried by the post and slidable longitudinally thereof, a resilient arm extending forwardly and downwardly from the shank in position for overlapping the upper portion of an opened book resting against the supporting means and holding pages of the book against turning movement, a spring yieldably holding the page holder in a normally raisedv position, and means for releasably holding the page holder in a depressed position for use.

7. A book rest comprising a base, means for supporting a book upright upon the base, a post rising from the base back of the supporting means, a page holder having a shank slidable vertically in the post, the post and the shank having flat surfaces cooperating with each other to prevent turning of the shank in the post, an arm extending forwardly from the shank and downwardly in position for overlapping an opened book upon the base and engaging pages of the opened book to prevent turning movement o1" leaves of the book, a spring urging the page holder upwardly to a raised position, and means for releasably holding the page holder in a depressed position for use.

ANTONIO SAVASTANO,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 483,244 Zavadil Sept. 27, 1892 1,357,053 Hilkey Oct. 26, 1920 1,974,012 Bushy Sept. 18, 1934 

